


Last

by Francesca_SpringRain



Category: Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-06
Updated: 2020-06-06
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:07:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 16
Words: 10,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24567424
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Francesca_SpringRain/pseuds/Francesca_SpringRain
Summary: "Ask yourself ... why do you feel like your heart has been ripped off?"
Relationships: Aerith Gainsborough/Cloud Strife
Comments: 6
Kudos: 20





	1. File 01 - Nightfall

**Author's Note:**

> English is not my native language, so be patient if I make a mistake.  
> Leave a comment if you liked the story.  
> Thanks for reading.

## File 01 – Nightfall

He entered the almost dark room. The sunset had passed and from the window he could see a darkness different from the one he was in. He went to the window's glass. A distracted image looked at him, with reflections of blond hair and Mako eyes. 

"Tch" he hissed between his teeth. From the dark lashes his irises of the crystalline color of the sea stared beyond his serious face at the stars that had appeared to illuminate the other darkness, the one that did not belong to him. 

He took off his gloves, undoed the zippers of the metal shoulder strap that slid on his arm. He raised his hand, touching the peeling paint on the window, then turned the handle and the night air hit him. Along with that, a twinge in the head stunned him for a second and he put his hand to his temple, but did not close his eyes. He would never close them again, in front of nothing. He resisted the pain that blinded him, devouring the fresh wind with his mouth open, in an effort to resist.  
The air smelled of rain, humidity and greenery, and the sky, he could see it between his fingers, was now extinguishing the last light, far away, where still had the color of his eyes. 

It had passed again.  
The breath subsided, the face relaxed and the tension eased. He heard distant voices, the laughters, the screams of the kids, the curses. He hastily lit the candle butt that was on the table and for a moment his pupils became tiny. Then he slid into the corner, beside his sword. 

He could not think, or rather, his thoughts shook him deeply and swirled within him in an uncontrolled spiral, without allowing him to focus his thoughts on anything. He couldn't think of anything, everything was confusion, chaos, a dripping of mixed frames that he was unable to reorder.  
His hand touched the blade, and almost winced as he felt the cold steel under his fingers. That was the only certainty he could feel within himself, the only contact that managed to calm him.  
Had he ever been able to try something different?  
He leaned his head against the wooden wall, warm against his back, and fixed his eyes on the darkness of the beams. A sigh came hissing from his parted lips and let his eyes close. 

He knew. He knew that the memories would come back to tear his heart again, but he did nothing to prevent it. That was the price to pay, his just punishment.


	2. File 02 - Interference

## File 02 - Interference

He shook himself when he heard her voice: "Cloud? Are you okay?"  
He realized he had his hand in his temple again.  
Opening his eyes he slammed into her green and clear ones, visibly worried.  
"Mh" he muttered, following her relieved expression with his eyes.  
"As I said, Zack was a few years older than you, surely you met him. When I saw you for the first time I was really surprised. You really look alike, and not only in physical appearance".  
She smiled, and at the bottom of that smile Cloud saw something he couldn't understand.  
His mouth twisted into a grimace and the thought became more tangled: Zack.  
He knew it, yes. But he still could not remember. He saw in his head the blurred face and in his heart the clear and sincere smile of a black-haired boy, nothing more. A boy with eyes like hers.

He looked up at the sky. It was pitch black, there in Midgar. Or perhaps he was simply looking from the slums at the structure that supported the city above. He could not understand it. In his brain there was still the usual interference that did not allow him to think clearly. He heard that buzz of short circuit and reality merged with thoughts in a fuzzy limbo full of whispers.

His hand gripped the hilt of the sword stronger, marking himself deeply with the rope that covered it. He didn't wear gloves, he noticed, and neither did the armor, but the huge and sharp sword was always with him, the only foothold he had, the only certainty, the only thing that, he remembered, had always been at his side since when he remembered it.

Aerith looked at him questioningly, scanning every change in his expression. She took his hand, pulling it away from the hilt, and examined it, then moving her gaze into his eyes.

"Wow! How beautiful! "  
"Huh?" A surprise grunt escaped his lips.  
"Your eyes! They have a really delicate color. " She smiled at him again.  
"All Soldiers have that reflection, it depends on the infusion of Mako energy."  
"Mh-Mh!" she nodded, and letting go of his hand jumped down from where they were sitting. "... but the color they take depends on the original color of everyone's eyes." 

Again a smile between the innocent and the mischievous. Cloud wondered if that attitude was wanted or not. "She laughs a little too much", he thought,  
but inside he felt something that pushed him, to the point of making him sketch a sort of smile.  
"I can't let you go on alone, and as promised we still have to have our evening together, remember?"  
He looked at her questioningly. He didn't remember anything like that, but he nodded, wondering what she would invent shortly thereafter. Certainly there was never any boredom with her.  
"Anything, but forget that I dress up like a woman again!" he retorted in a tone between joking and annoyed.  
"But ... you could dance, right?" She chuckled, then again a mischievous smile.  
Cloud closed his eyes, remembering the embarrassment of that moment, and shook his head.  
"At that moment you were really ... uhm ... sexy!" Aerith narrowed her eyes allusively, and he turned abruptly to the other side to hide the fact that he was blushing.  
"Now I'm going to get ready," she added, "make sure you dress appropriately, please! See you later!" 

He followed her with his eyes as she walked away, then looked at the hand that she had held in his own a few minutes earlier. So now he had an appointment. It was the first time.


	3. File 03 - Expectation

## File 03 - Expectation

Slowly his hand ran to find the sword. Before he even opened his eyes he sought contact with the cold and thick steel of the blade. He felt something strange inside him, a sort of excitement that made him tingle in the back of his neck.

He stood up reluctantly and went back to the window. It was still dark after all. He should have slept again.  
In the whirlwind of thoughts he looked into his mind and he found her: those green eyes like a prairie, those gentle ways, her taking care of every creature and then ... that smile.  
The window’s glass sent back a half smile with relaxed features, reflected by the light of the stars. He ran a hand over his head, lowering his rebellious locks, and his forehead lingered in his palm, as if to hold back a happiness that would have slipped away shortly thereafter.

"I'll go to bed," he concluded, pulling off his heavy boots and his thick, high belt.  
He lay down on the bed still intact with one arm to cover his eyes, which otherwise would have wandered again in the darkness of the room.

"How can I get dressed?" he thought, marveling at a thought so unmanly on his part, as a teenager’s. He remembered almost nothing of the years spent outside the Shinra, and very little of those lived since his entry into the Soldiers at today. He had never worried about anything other than fighting or completing a mission. And surely he had never lived a civilian life, nor relationships beyond simple friendships.  
Ever since he could remember his most assiduous travel companion had been his sword, he had only recently begun to collaborate with other people, and to fight for someone else's ideals for money.

He sighed. After all, his life seemed meaningless to him, but he certainly would not give up. Not if an insignificant thing like a date managed to put him in crisis like that.  
Was it fear? Was it shyness? Maybe both or maybe something else, he didn't explain it. But he felt a sensation in his stomach that he had never experienced. Maybe it was just an expectation, but he wondered if that was one of the ways happiness manifests itself.


	4. File 04 - Encounter

## File 04 – Encounter

He looked in the mirror, he looked fine. A blue jacket, a white shirt and a vest, with a pair of jeans would have been fine. It was so unusual for him to dress in something different. On the color no, he had no doubts. Midnight blue had always been his color. He straightened his hair, which fell into soft locks on his neck, then put his hand on the mirror, struggling to recognize himself. What she would have thought of him? Would she have liked it? He pursed his lips, puffing. He had no idea how they were going to spend the evening, and he still felt that sensation that tangled his bowels.

While waiting for Aerith, leaning against the balustrade overlooking the Wall Market, he thought of when, some time ago, he was speechless looking at her in her red dress. She was beautiful, remembered being enchanted, and was ashamed that he hadn't been able to speak then.  
He hadn't even complimented her, all he had been able to say was "…’Scuse me" then turn around with his face on fire. He pushed that thought away by waving his hand in front of him. “Would Zack have been ashamed in the same way? I do not think so…"  
He didn't understand why Zack had occurred to him at the time.  
Aerith had spoken him as her first love. How she approached him, attracted by the physical resemblance to Zack. And yet ... yet he could not focus anything. Was he jealous of Zack?

He rubbed the petal of an imaginary flower between his fingers, like the one that Aerith had given him in their very first encounter. He felt impatient. "This time," he thought, "everything will be fine. I don't want to repent, nor have regrets ...This time? " His mouth twisted into a grimace that he could not explain. He sniffed the air that disheveled him, admiring with narrowed eyes the bright lights of the Wall Market, keeping his hands firm on the railing and looking for any excuse to relax.

"Did you wait for someone?"  
Aerith's voice surprised him from behind. He had pretended he hadn't heard the footsteps slowly approaching. He pursed his lips and turned to face her.  
She stood there, in front of him, smiling. She wore a white and green sleeveless dress, knee-length in front, and longer behind, with thin straps and pretty curls on the front. She had gathered her hair in a high ponytail, braiding it with a ribbon of the same green as the shoulder straps and had a necklace full of star-shaped pendants around her neck. Her makeup was light and highlighted the green of her eyes, which seemed even more intense on that hot and windy night. 

Cloud felt the heat start from his throat, take his breath away for a moment, and then poured on the skin, on the cheeks, to the tip of the ears. 

"Yes ... yes I was..." he ventured to say gasping, but the words stopped again. She was bloody beautiful, and for the first time he felt not only the urge to run away from there, but also that of holding her. He felt the blood boil and was ashamed of it.  
With one hand in front of his mouth he muttered "... I was waiting for you" with a voice so low that it seemed like a cough. 

Aerith turned around him, in her usual cheerful and easy manner, but with a different look in her eyes. She ran her hand over his arm, stroking the light fabric of his jacket, then took his hands and looked at him from head to toe. "Look at yourself! You look so good! You don't look like you either! Cloud!" She looked him straight in the eyes and smiled at him.  
"Ah ... you are also… ah, sorry." He turned his face for a moment, visibly in difficulty, then cleared his throat and started again. "You are beautiful, A... erith." He lowered his eyes, staring at his feet, and felt her hold on his arm. "Come on," she laughed cheerfully. He looked at her and nodded, and his mouth relaxed in a smile.


	5. File 05 - Sharing Moments

## File 05 – Sharing Moments

The evening air was really pleasant, even if the confusion of the neighborhood hampered any type of conversation between them.  
They had dined on the terrace of a restaurant from which you could see beyond the city border.  
"What are you going to do when all this is over, Cloud?" she ventured, sipping white wine in a glass.  
"Maybe ... get out of this city. I don't know yet ... I've never asked myself the problem until now. " She laughed.  
The city had a strange stench there in the slums and people lived among hardships, however she had never wanted to leave, much less would have wanted to embark on a journey under a sky she could not see the end of. But maybe she would leave too, she concluded, and take Elmyra with her, the woman who had taken care of her since she was a child, just like a mother.  
"The fact is, Cloud, that I'm afraid to look at the sky ... Maybe it's because here in Midgar we couldn’t see the sky... or at least not entirely!" she said, swinging with her chair.  
She had grown up in that dark and dusty city, she, the last of the Ancient, born in a laboratory of the Shinra, from which her mother, Ifalna, had taken her away giving her freedom at the price of her life. 

She smiled at him, then looked down at the glass she held in her hands and suddenly emptied it. 

Sitting there talking was pleasant in the beginning. Aerith had told him a little about her life, but Cloud felt somewhat dissatisfied. He felt out of place in the midst of that coming and going of people and his shyness did not allow him to behave in a casual way.  
Several times during the evening he had hidden behind a hand or looked down, especially at some indiscreet questions Aerith had asked him, probably to tease him.  
It was with her: since she had known him, she had always reproached him for being too serious. Yet she was there, in front of him. Despite his grumpy and bashful character, she was still there.  
That thought made him blush, and he felt his stomach stir again.  
"Do you... um... would you like to try? Would you like to try to look at an endless sky... now? " He would have liked to add "with me" to the rest of the sentence, but it already seemed too bold to him in that way, so he raised his head and stared at her straight in the eyes with a questioning air. "Mhh ... maybe we could go out, even if only for a short time," she replied, repressing a sudden shiver.  
She got up and Cloud put his jacket on her shoulders.  
"Here we go. If we leave immediately, we will return before it’s day. "


	6. File 06 - Escape

## File 06 - Escape

Cloud's heavy motorbike darted on the road.  
It had taken them over an hour to get out of that tangle of scrap metal, concrete, asphalt and ruins that were Midgar's slums, but they were finally out.  
The road winded through endless grasslands, towards the mountains.  
Aerith hugged Cloud, looking around from time to time, but most of the time she kept her eyes closed, her face resting on his back, as if to absorb the heat, like a hug.  
Cloud ran giving gas, letting the wind lash his face, to divert the thought from that heat transmitted to his back, so different from the usual feeling of the steel of his sword.  
He felt more relaxed and had every intention of enjoying that unscheduled ride.  
He would show her a place of his memories, a plateau overlooking the coast below. It had seemed like a good idea.

In reality he was still in trouble. Again memories, thoughts and feelings swirled inside him and again he felt he was incomplete, unsuitable. How would he have behaved? He had no idea. Being alone together was not like having a goal to achieve or someone to save. It was the passage of time, and he was the least suitable person for this: introverted, shy and with the mind immersed in a haze difficult to dispel.

For the first time, at least from what he could remember, he had come out for a reason that only a short time before he would have considered futile, driven by something that was not duty, driven by a desire. He realized how much the meeting with Aerith had changed him, how she had penetrated his shy and grumpy character, teaching him to also have desires, beyond the will to complete a mission or perform a task. It was changing ... It was something he did not initially consider, something he had not realized until then. Maybe he was beginning to discover his true personality, and he didn't mind that. He smiled pleased at these considerations.

"Still missing a lot of, Cloud?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts and tightening her arms around his waist even more.  
"A few kilometers, hold on tight!" he replied in enthusiasm.  
He accelerated by making the motorbike jump due to the rough surface, and it made a couple of shouts of excitement to Aerith.  
"Cloud is fun, do it again!" she laughed, and they darted away, running into the night, facing the moon.


	7. File 07 - Falling

## File 07 – Falling 

The plateau was covered with flowers and from the terrace, made up of a simple wooden fence, you could see the coast. Some illuminated villages dotted the rocky cliff and, below, the pitch black sea reflected the silver of the moon. In the distance, a thunderstorm ripped the sky pink and orange.

Aerith leaned against the balustrade, dumbfounded in front of that spectacle, and for the first time looked up at the sky.  
"Wow, Cloud! It’s beautiful here! I didn't think I would feel so safe outside of Midgar." She smiled at him, then looked up again. "Even if I can't see the end of it, the sky seems so beautiful and I don't feel any fear." She smiled. "Maybe it's because I'm with you."

Cloud sat on the fence, his legs dangling into the void.  
"I think ... I'd like to live in such a place," he said without hesitation.  
"And would you continue to be a mercenary, Cloud?" The question left him speechless for a moment.  
"No ... I don't think so. When everything will ends I will look for a normal job, and build a small house somewhere "he whispered looking at the sky too. "Although for the moment all I can do is fight."  
"It's sad, isn't it?" Aerith continued. "Hurting living creatures is something that doesn't make me proud, even though we've always done it for a just cause."  
"Is that why at the end of each fight you whisper those words to your enemies?"  
"It's my power, Cloud. I help them get back to the Lifestream. It is one of the few things that Ancients is allowed to do. "  
She lowered her eyes and voice at the same time.  
"Everyone ... everyone returns to the Lifestream, to the planet, sooner or later ..."  
Her delicate profile darkened, then closed her eyes, inhaling forcefully the brackish air that ruffled her hair.

"What about Tifa?"  
She caught him off guard, to the point that he risked going off balance and falling below.  
"Tifa ... We've known each other since we were kids ... and we've been fighting together for a long time. It was she who made me join the Avalanche. She is a childhood friend and ... "  
"And… ?" Aerith had turned to look at him and then he didn't know what to answer.  
"Must there be some more?" he replied, got off the balustrade and turned his back on the sea.

She looked at him, and trying to tease him continued. She found it fun to tease him.  
"I thought ... that you liked her, so…" she stated with a smug face.  
She loved to see his timid, pouting or surprised expressions and chuckled at the umpteenth time he showed her.  
"You're not that imperturbable then" she thought.

Cloud crossed his arms with a huff.  
"I never thought of her in these terms, if that's what you want to know."  
He looked annoyed and she laughed.  
"I didn't want to get you into trouble, it's just that you two seem very close ..."  
"I would say that Tifa behaves with me as a mother would, she has always been like this."  
"Well, there would be nothing wrong if ... I think you would need such a person, wouldn't you?"  
"No! I…"

All of a sudden he fell silent. He did not understand where Aerith wanted to go, and he had no intention of reflecting on another person at that time. Not when he himself could not understand what it was that attracted him so much to the person in front of him at the time.

"Cloud ... I ..." Aerith stood in front of him and raised a hand on his face. "I think you should think about it sooner or later."  
The sudden contact startled him and he narrowed his eyes when she stroked his cheek. He could not escape, and he did not want it, so he went against that impulse and placed his hand on hers, looking straight into her eyes.  
"Because ... I ... now ..."  
Her smile twisted into a grimace for a moment, then returned to being the same as ever. Cloud held her hand, that painful expression had not escaped him.

"Tell me about Zack" he managed to whisper, convinced that she was thinking about him at the time. He let her withdraw her hand and turn away.  
She stretched, as she often did, and without turning to look at him she rolled her eyes.  
“Zack was a kind and caring boy. He took great care of me, and always brought me flowers. Only once did he give me a hair ribbon, and it was before he left to join the Soldiers. We had promised that we would always be together ... he treated me as a precious thing, as if I were made of crystal. But now Zack ... "  
She lowered her head and sighed, and a small sob escaped her, shaking her shoulders.

Cloud took her wrist, forcing her to turn around and look at him.  
"I'm not Zack," he thought.  
He squeezed harder, and looked at her seriously.  
"This time everything will be fine." He smiled, trying to reassure her.  
"I saw you, I saw you! That was a smile! It's the first time, Cloud! "  
He released her wrist and raised his hand to his mouth, embarrassed.  
"Do not hide. Don't hide what you feel inside you. You see? Smiling is easy and helps you live better, don't you think? You smile! Smile whenever you can, Cloud! " And he smiled in turn, while with her fingers she bent the corners of his mouth upwards.  
"There's really nothing to do with you, huh?" He shook his head, and almost laughed at that stupid and at the same time so cute gesture.  
She laughed. 

He had never felt serene and agitated together as at that moment.  
It was a new sensation that he had no idea how to manage.  
"There is another thing, Cloud ... something else I should tell you ... But it is so ..."  
He looked up at her, forgetting his embarrassment for a moment. "I listen to you."  
“No, not like that!” she whispered “Close your eyes and ... lower yourself… please!"  
He felt her forehead resting on his, and his hands tighten on his wrists.  
"She's so close" he thought, blushing.  
The smell of lilies filled his nose, mixed with that of the sea and Mako energy when Aerith took refuge in his arms, holding him really tight.  
He could not help but hold her in turn, his heart pounding. Then he felt her soft lips brush against his mouth and instinctively opened his eyes wide, finding himself in front of her grass-colored irises.  
Another first time.  
He felt his chest swell with confused feelings. On the one hand he would have liked to run away, to withdraw, as his nature suggested. On the other hand, that softness was an invitation and a plea together and therefore gave way. He wrapped her neck with his hand, pulling her towards him and hugged her harder, pressing his mouth to hers.  
He loved her. It was love, no doubt.  
Something powerful enough to make every cell in your body scream.  
What else could it have been? 

“Whatever happens you can't fall in love with me.  
Even if you love me ... it's not real. "

Aerith had spoken those words. He saw her in the background of a starry night. That scene echoed in his mind for a few moments. He did not remember ever having lived it, yet the interference in his head at that moment had brought her out. He could not say if it came from the past, from the future or simply from the subconscious.  
He felt his heart hammering, and in spite of what that phrase suggested, he decided not to listen to anything. He parted his lips and felt her moan as his fingers dipped gently into her hair. He had let his heart follow instinct, silencing common sense and reason and at that moment he realized that he was in a state of ecstasy.

He hugged her for moments that seemed endless and she clung to him in turn. From time to time they looked at each other without speaking.  
He felt her hands ruffle his hair and caress the back of his neck, rest on his chest or encircle his hips under his jacket.  
Time did not seem to pass, marked only by the beating of two hearts in unison.  
"I won't let anything happen this time ..." he said almost in a low voice.  
She suddenly broke away, opening her eyes wide. Her fingers tightened on the fabric of his jacket, then she lowered her head. "Thanks, Cloud."  
He tried his lips again, but she stopped him, placing her hands on his chest.  
“I think it's time to come back. We have to say goodbye. "

He let her step away, lost in who knows what thoughts, shrugged and went to sit on the grass, among the flowers, and resting his arms behind him, turned his face with his eyes closed to the moon.

Aerith knelt by his side and clung to the fabric of his jacket.  
"Cloud."  
He watched her. There was a veil of sadness in her eyes.  
"Hey" he whispered, "what's wrong with you?"  
She shook her head without looking at him, swinging her long braid in the air.  
He reached out and wrapped her nape again, pulling her towards him and forcing her to face him.  
"Aerith ... are you okay?"  
She smiled and a small tear slid down her cheek to the corner of her lips.  
"I lo..." Her hand closed his mouth.  
"Stupid" she sobbed with her forehead resting on his "I have to go. Day is coming, Cloud. "

He felt that something was happening, but he could not understand. He only had an irresistible urge to kiss her again. He felt the blood pulsate while they were frozen in that moment, with the moon wrapping them in a white halo, warm as an embrace and cold as a coffin. 

He reached out to her and touched her mouth, collecting a tear with his lips, then went up to kiss her eyes, her hair, her forehead, then her mouth again. "You are really obstinate, Cloud Strife" was her usual tone, playful and slightly flirtatious "... but I don't have time anymore. Thank you, thank you ... Cloud. "  
She smiled as she pushed him away. He tried to grab her wrist, but she dissolved into a stream of Mako energy right under his astonished eyes. Only her voice remained in the air like a whisper:  
"Ask yourself ... why do you feel like your heart has been ripped off?"


	8. File 08 - Emersion

## File 08 - Emersion

He emerged from sleep, opening his eyes and mouth in a formless scream. The hands, on the contrary, were tightened to the point that the palms were bleeding. A blade of light hurt his eyes and raised a hand to protect the irises, then looked around him. The modest room was like the previous evening: the sword next to the bed, the boots on the floor, the gloves on the table next to the extinguished candle and a jar with two lilies, an empty cup of coffee on the shelf and little else: his things, the motorcycle keys, the overcoat, the armor.

He looked at his hands.  
What had lived up to that moment ... what had it been?  
His chest felt heavy like a boulder, and he was breathing hard.

He felt that strange buzzing in his temple which forced him to narrow his eyes and clench his teeth, like interference, an electric shock. It has often happened to him since he returned to Midgar after abandoning the Soldiers. They had told him that it was due to the fact that the infusion of Mako energy had caused him a sort of intoxication that involved neurological and memory disorders, and therefore he had never paid too much attention to this, and had limited himself to moving forward. But those moments of which he only glimpsed blurred frames, what exactly did they represent? The past? The future? Were they some sort of warning or just the projection of the fears he had to repress in his combat training?  
Did not know. All he knew was that they hurt damned.  
No ... not just in the head. Especially to the heart.  
Had it been an interference? Not a single frame but a whole night? Every single emotion, every beat of his heart, every breath of wind. Was it all a lie?

He shook his head and looked again at his hands, which a few moments before had tried in vain to grab her, and had held only a glare of Mako.  
Where had Aerith gone?  
Because she wasn't there. He knew.  
He knew that going out of that room he would not find her, as he would not find her by sifting the entire Midgar.  
He didn't even have to ask himself why.  
He should have looked for her, found her, brought her home. This thought.  
Yet there was something ... a presentiment. The feeling that he would never succeed, but no ... he had no intention of listening.

He hadn't made any sound, except for that one short scream, partly suffocated by sleep. He sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands, while Marlene came in to make sure everything was fine.  
"I heard you screaming, Cloud!" She rushed to hug him. "Are you OK?"  
"Yes, Marle ... everything’s ok."  
He had tried to smile, but he had no desire. His mouth was shut in a grip of despair.  
It was all as usual, as when he was lying down. It was he who was no longer the same.

"Ask yourself ... why do you feel like your heart has been ripped off?"  
Now he knew it.


	9. File 09 - Friendship

## File 9 - Friendship

He didn't speak all morning. Neither after the shower, nor when he left his room without closing the door. He had put on his clothes, grabbed the sword and the keys, jumped on his motorbike and left, without even saying goodbye.  
At 7th Heaven no one noticed his behavior, Cloud always did so.  
Tifa had snorted from behind the counter when he had come out slamming the door, but was now resigned ...  
Cloud did not want to see and hear anything. Not yet.

He had launched into a mad rush, and had left old Midgar behind, raising clouds of dust on the deserted prairies. He had crossed steppes, rivers and villages, his heart continuing to tighten and implode minute by minute.  
He wandered aimlessly, following only instinct, without receiving any stimulus.  
It seemed to him to go around in circles.  
From time to time he stopped, put his feet on the ground, looked around, smelled the air. Then he set off again, grinding the road in search of an intuition. 

It was sunset when he finally reached the plateau. The soil he had stepped on only the night before was cold and barren. There was no shade of grass, let alone flowers, and a sword stuck in the bare earth revealed a grave.  
He didn't remember seeing anything like this before.

He went over and reached out, brushing that worn hilt with his fingers and his mind showed him two hands holding it.  
He pulled back abruptly, as if seared, widening his eyes and tightening his jaws.

Zack

An electric shock passed him in the temple, overpowering and painful, ripping out a scream.  
He spun around, looking around and putting his hand on the hilt, and then letting it fall to his side.  
There was no one there. Only wind, dust and an unnamed sword.

Zack.  
His heart had quieted for a moment.

Who was Zack? What did it have to do with him?  
Were the answers already inside him?

He felt a sense of warmth and remorse inside, and he clung to it.  
He crouched near a rock, put down his heavy sword continuing to stare at that tomb and there he prepared to spend the night, stunned by the silence of his own heart.

His arms surrounded his knees and he lowered his head, trying to evoke in mind that frame from just before. Whatever it was, he would no longer try to counter it, let the images flow into him. Maybe he could have remembered. He thought so.

For a moment the thought returned to Aerith. He saw in his mind her graceful way of looking up at him, those eyes that smiled every time they were turned towards him, even if full of tears.  
"You are there?" he said aloud, but got no response, only it seemed to him that two arms surrounded him in an ethereal embrace as he drifted off to sleep.

The night just passed had been quiet, but full of dreams.  
In the silence of the plateau millions of images had followed one another in his mind, and even if the order of events was not yet fully understood he had managed to understand why his heart had recognized that place.  
Zack had been his comrade in arms and a friend so generous that he had given his life to take him out of the Shinra. That plateau was the place where Zack rested, the place he remembered precisely because it was there that he had said goodbye to him.

Waking up, he realized that some of the fog that filled his head had disappeared, and immediately his eyes had looked for that sword so stuck in the ground.  
He had touched the blade again. Once it was his hands that had held it, now he remembered them well. His mouth had bowed into a sad smile, and he had lowered his head, out of respect.  
"Thanks" he whispered before leaving, then he turned for a moment to feel the wind and started riding his motorbike.


	10. File 10 - Path of pain

## File 10 - Path of pain

He could see from a distance the white and skeletal branches of the Cetra’s Forest. He had stopped seeing it appear on the horizon: a heap of huge stones from which the trunks of what had once been majestic trees sprouted. The few remaining buildings had the shape of snails and shells, and everything was white and gray, the same color as death. 

It was a place from which he had always kept away, for a reason he could not explain. He felt something in his stomach, in his throat. The same feeling he felt at that moment when he saw that strange form of vegetation again. He did not know why he had arrived there, after days of travel, in the continent southwest of Midgar, but had concluded that this would be the place to start: the Forgotten Capital of the Cetra.

He got off the motorbike and would have continued on foot. He would not have dared to desecrate a place of strong mystical concentration like that.

Several times along the stony path he felt the desire to run away, to turn his heels and go away inside him. With each step he felt a sense of anger mixed with desperation, accompanied by something that forced him to take another step, again and again.  
The song of the stream called him, and the closer he got, the more the urge to escape became stronger and the more he had to fight against himself. Had he been there before? In his mind everything was white and formless but, he felt it, he could not escape.  
He looked up and a shiver ran down his spine.

The fountain was a few meters away. His lips were tightened in a grimace, his fists clenched, his senses sharpened. The only thing that gave him confidence was the cold of steel on his back.  
Another step, yet another.  
He screamed, forced to bend from pang to head.  
He fell to his knees, holding his forehead in one of the worst crises he had ever had, and finally he lost consciousness.

"What are you going to do when all this is over, Cloud?"

Aerith's question still echoed in his brain when he regained consciousness. He opened his eyes and struggled trying to get back on his feet.  
In that place, time seemed to stand still.  
The opalescent white of the trees seemed to vibrate in its stillness.  
The majestic stems that surrounded the spring seemed an insurmountable wall, placed there to protect the ruins of that mysterious people: the Cetra, the other name of the Ancients.

Topped by the shell-shaped construction, also white, the water gushed from the center of the fountain like molten glass.  
He stared at that scene, as if he were looking through them.  
His pupils were annihilated by all that white.  
He remained motionless, his hand on the hilt.

In his mind a voice he knew spoke.

"Remember?"  
"…I remember… what?"  
“Did you think you could find her here? How stupid! "  
"No! I…"

plic

"This is where ..."  
"No! It's not true!"

plic

He drew his weapon, brandishing it violently and sliced through the wind.

plic

"Yes but! It is precisely here that ... "  
"Ahhhhhh! Shut up! I said no! "

plic

Another blow to empty, against nothing.

"Look good, Cloud!"

plic

"Shut up!"

plic ... plic

He vibrated another blow in the air around him, shocked by the silence and that noise.

plic  
plic  
plic

"I won't let anything happen this time!" He screamed.

plic

"There’s nothing more that needs to happen, Cloud."

plic

"Zack? It’s you, Zack? "  
He dropped his sword into the white dust, but the noise seemed to be swallowed up by the deafening silence. Only that noise seemed to echo.

plic ... plic 

"Say something, damn it!" 

plic 

He could not take his eyes off that pool, and made a superhuman effort to turn to that voice, which spoke to him from the bottom of his consciousness.  
At the bottom of his eyes the shadow of a black-haired boy smiled at him. 

"Remember, Cloud."  
"I do not want to! I…"

plic

"This way it's too comfortable, Cloud. You did it the other night. Now you have to force yourself to do it again. " 

Instinctively he took another step.  
He felt as if his body was made of stone, as if an unknown force was sucking him towards the ground, hindering his slightest movement.  
Another step. 

plic 

In an extreme struggle against gravity, he surrendered and fell to his knees at the point where the water lapped the bank, then leaned over the crystalline pool that sent him back his image. 

plic ... plic 

He looked at his own eyes, clear as glass, then ran a hand over his cheek and realized that the sound that had so far echoed in that silence was that of his tears. 

"Everyone ... everyone returns to the Lifestream, to the planet, sooner or later ..." 

Aerith's voice rang in his ears as he held the spring water in his palms, and his eyes saw that scene from a long time ago, when the world was still under the threat of Meteor.


	11. File 11 - Painful Memories

## File 11 - Painful Memories

Aerith had left overnight, leaving the group.  
She ran to what was the place where her race had thrived, the place where the Cetra lived and been annihilated by the selfishness of human beings.

The Forgotten Capital was a sort of sanctuary, a petrified forest, entirely white, in which as soon as you entered you were permeated by the mystical atmosphere and the sacred silence, heavy as a boulder.

In the center of the woods, a shell-shaped construction stood to protect the sacred source, from pure water like crystal. There Aerith had knelt on top of one of the pillars to pray for the destiny of the whole world and thus to shape the sacred Materia, Holy, and had remained there for days, until the arrival of Cloud and the others.

It was there that he saw her.  
She wore her usual pink suit with a red jacket. The long hair was braided by a red ribbon, and fastened on the head by a large pink bow. "Zack's ribbon," he thought.  
She was on her knees and seemed wrapped in a halo, her hands folded in prayer. Like a sacred image. He reached out to her, but she couldn't see him, nor could he make any sound. He simply stood there watching as the world collapsed before his eyes.

He watched another self, holding the sword against her, saw him oppose and fight against that extraneous control, and win the battle.  
Then he looked at Aerith. He saw her eyes rise in that gesture he knew so well and turn on seeing him, her mouth bend in a graceful smile and her hands reaching out towards that Cloud that a few moments before had raised his sword to kill her.

Then he looked up. Everything happened in an instant.

Sephiroth, the black angel with one wing, his eternal enemy, swooped down, lowering his blade, Masamune, through her.

He watched her eyes dilated with disbelief and pain, while a stream of blood came out of those lips that had always reserved him the sweetest of smiles, he saw the other himself frozen in the futile attempt to do anything.

Then he shouted. And everything turned white. 

The whirlwind of thoughts had stopped suddenly, while his completely empty mind retraced every moment of those moments, in a loop. 

Abandoned on the edge of the fountain, his shoulders shaking with sobs, he wept.


	12. File 12 - Catharsis

## File 12 - Catharsis

He had remained there, stunned, his back resting on one of the snowy trunks of that forest.  
Without feelings, like an empty shell, his arms abandoned at his sides, his eyes fixed on something far away, motionless, his lips closed in a grin of pain.  
Not even after his worst battle was he reduced to such conditions.  
He hadn't even been able to hold on to the sword.

For endless hours, the same scene had always revived, made of blood, pain and despair.  
He also relived the moment when the other self said goodbye to her.  
After the battle with Jenova, the monstrous creature that Sephiroth called Mother, Cloud had gently lifted Aerith's body and entered the crystalline fountain. With eyes full of tears he whispered words that he did not remember, then he laid her down in the water, and he let her slide down, deep. The forest had vibrated with whispers and had closed in on itself again, in that deep silence that had persisted ever since.

He raised a hand to his eyes. He realized that he had no more tears and let his hand fall to the ground, in the dust.

"It wasn't her."  
"Shut up!"  
"It wasn't her, Cloud."  
"I don't want to listen!"  
"You haven't found her, yet."  
"..."

He barely turned his face, just enough to see Zack's reflection beside him.  
The jammed mechanism had started to work from there, from the moment he had not been able to somatize. Now he knew that Zack had lived in him, he had always known, but it was as if until then he had forgotten, so perceiving his presence did not seem an anomaly. The pieces of his crazy puzzle were returning to their place, slowly and silently. He squeezed his knees, head down.

"Is she ... with you now?"  
He whispered, but his voice rang out like a scream in that still world.

"No, Cloud."  
"You're here to watch over her, then." 

Zack smiled.  
"I'm here for you."  
"For me? Damn! I... So… all this time I've been running away, isn't it? " He put his hands to his head. "I also did it towards you. I have no excuse now. Everything was already inside me and I always pretended not to see it. I just didn't want to look… ”He twisted his mouth. "You're right ... it was more comfortable that way. But this also prevented me from looking at my heart ... " 

He turned to Zack's shadow, his forehead resting on his arms. He seemed to have gone back to being a boy and talking to an older brother.  
Zack's profile relaxed, he sensed that he was smiling as he ruffled his hair with his hand without looking at him.  
"Go ... there is still something you want to tell her, isn't it? Seek her. Your heart knows where to find her. "  
"Mh ... that's it. I have to find her. "  
"And when you find her, what will you do?"  
“I don't know yet. Everything will be different ... I think. "  
"Go, Cloud. Everything will be fine."


	13. File 13 - Chase

## File 13 - Chase

Since he had climbed back on his bike, Cloud had done nothing but think. An endless flow of memories was taking place within him. The black Matter of Sephiroth, Meteor, and the white Matter, Holy, created by Aerith at the price of her life, the decisive clash with Sephiroth, the Weapons, the Ultimate and the end of the battles, he saw everything clearly within himself, and not never happened to him once more to have pangs in his temples.  
In all that past, he realized, he had always put one step before the other, without ever stopping.  
He had managed to overcome everything, yet ...

"There is still so much I want to tell her," he thought, pursing his lips and trying in his mind to understand where Aerith could be.

Back on the continent of Midgar he had visited Elmyra, in his house full of flowers, and had spent the night out there, right in the middle of those flowers that Aerith had loved so much. The only thing he had seen were the fireflies that at dusk had filled the garden with thousands of small lights, making it similar to the Lifestream. "Aerith would have loved this scene," he thought, letting the tears flow.

The following day he had gone to the church in Sector 5, where they had met for the second time. The white and yellow lilies continued to bloom undisturbed, but Aerith was not even there.

After days of wandering he had thought of returning to 7th Heaven, but did not know how to deal with Tifa, Barret and Marlene who, despite everything, continued to carry on with their lives.  
He had no words to say, not yet.

He decided to go back to Zack.  
The plateau was the only place where he didn't feel out of place. There Zack had died for him, there he had entrusted him with his life, his sword and his dreams. He smiled, thinking about how Zack had given him a new existence.

The weather threatened rain. Black clouds had gathered on the coast and the wind had risen. Walking, Cloud raised heavy gusts of dust that swirled around him. He was holding a bouquet of Aerith’s lilies. He thought they were an appropriate gift for Zack, and placed them right at the foot of that sword.

"I'm back," he exclaimed, lowering his head in greeting, then sat down not too far away.  
“I am here again, my friend. God, I'm so pathetic and boring, aren't I? Even now I need to be spurred on by you. "  
He struck the rock he was leaning on with a punch, while new silent tears came from his eyes.  
“Although you died to give me this life I have not learned at all. Why aren't you here to scold me, Zack? " 

Thunder ripped through the sky and heavy drops began to fall.  
"Tch, just like that day," he hissed between his teeth.  
He leaned his head against the stone, letting the rain wash his face and did not move, he remained there, sitting with his eyes closed.  
He listened to the monotonous drumming of the rain for hours, drenching himself to the core, in a limbo without thoughts, full only of dreams, permeated by a single presence.  
Then, suddenly, the silence surprised him.  
No more rain, no sound to echo in that barren territory, he could only hear the roar of the sea in the distance. He opened his eyes. Among the black clouds a ray of sunshine had forcefully opened the way to the valley and the light filtered clearly, conveyed in a single point.  
He got up abruptly and began to run at breakneck speed towards that ray of light.  
The mud splashed from under his feet, the water that soaked him escaped from his body in a thousand fragments that reflected that ray from as many different angles.  
"Aerith" he thought "Aerith ... Aerith!"  
He could not stop, although his lungs burst and the rough terrain risked making him fall with every step, and finally he arrived. He really was out of breath and fell long. Breathing loudly he tried to balance the oxygen in his lungs, with his face in the mud. Then he saw it.  
Suspended in that ray of light, just as when he said goodbye to her a year earlier, Aerith was floating in the light.  
He got up and fell backwards on the slippery mud.  
He could not calm his heart.  
He approached almost on tiptoe, rubbing his face with his forearm to clean himself of the mud, to no avail.  
"Aerith" he whispered, bringing his mouth close to her ear, his hand suspended over her face, he was undecided whether to touch her or not.  
His eyes had filled with tears again, and he whispered her name softly, with fear.  
A warm tear fell on her pink cheek and slipped behind her ear as her dark lashes slowly opened, then snapped shut again under the glaring light.  
He raised a hand to shield her eyes.  
"Cloud? You finally arrived! You are late, do you know? "  
He squeezed her a second before she fell, and wrapping her in his arms he began to sob.


	14. File 14 - Gathering

## File 14 - Gathering

Aerith looked at him with her smile, which at that moment contained something new: an awareness she had never shown, a mixture of tenderness, understanding and sadness.  
Cloud didn't speak. He sat on a rock and looked at her, as if weighing every word that would come out of his mouth.  
She ran a hand through his wet and muddy hair.  
"Cloud?"  
"You will get dirty." His voice was shaking.  
She looked him over, then looked at her dress.  
"I think at this point ..." she laughed, snatching a tight smile from him.  
"Now you remember, isn't it?" she said, turning her back to him.  
"Now I remember," he replied, lapidary.  
Without words she had already reached the point.  
"Is there anything you want to tell me, Cloud?"  
He looked at her, exhausted, then turned his face.  
"I had so many things to say, but now I can't think of one."  
He cursed himself. He managed to be awkward even in a similar context.  
Then suddenly he looked her in the face and sprang to his feet, gathering his courage.  
"I love you," he declared, flushed as he tried not to turn around, biting his lip. He tried to rub his face again and Aerith smiled.  
She untied the ribbon that held her large twisted tail and passed it over his face, while her hair fell softly on her back.  
Cloud raised a hand to grab a lock of hair, squeezed it between his fingers and brought it to his lips.  
Aerith kissed his forehead, standing on tiptoe and he strove to push back a tear, which despite everything slipped on the cheek, domineering.  
She took his hands, interlacing her fingers with his.  
"I missed you, Cloud." she whispered resting her head on his chest.  
“Can I hold you? Won't you disappear like the last time? "  
She looked at him smiling.  
"I won't be able to stay with you forever, you know that, right Cloud?"  
"I know," he replied lowering his head.

She crouched against him and let him hold her in an embrace that seemed endless. He could smell the flowers, mixed with that of the rain. His heart hurt, but he wished he could stay that way forever.  
Aerith looked at him sweetly, and he put his hand on her cheek before pulling her gently to kiss her.


	15. File 15 - Goodbye

## File 15 - Goodbye

They sat together, holding hands, and the valley turned into a field full of flowers in the light of the setting sun.  
"It’s incredible ... is this also the power of the Cetra, your power?"  
"No, Cloud ... This is the power of the Lifestream. The power of the planet. "  
"So ... that's how it went ..." he lowered his eyes, thinking about the flowery plateau. "But there’s one thing ... something that is not clear to me. Was it all a lie? How was it possible that I saw you every day for a whole year? "  
“I couldn't leave you alone, Cloud. I felt that I could not abandon you again, it was not the time, and therefore I blocked the Lifestream. But ... only you could see me. "  
"So it wasn't dreams ..."  
"Can you do this in a dream?" She squeezed his hand even harder and Cloud looked down.  
"That day ..." she continued "as I slipped into the water, I felt your mind and your heart fall apart and I realized that without my support you would have collapsed. So I stayed with you until everything was over, and even more. You didn't seem to realize many things. And yet... yet, Cloud, every time you spoke there was always a detail that you certainly did not notice, but that made me understand that in some way you were aware of everything. "  
She got up to be able to look him in the eye, and took his hands.  
“But I wasn't ready to leave you. The closer I was to you, the more your reactions changed. For me it was like watching you open your eyes little by little ... "  
"But ... at this time you could be with the people you love, and instead because of me you're still here."  
"It's all right" she smiled "because right here is the person I love more than all the others."  
His eyes widened and a slight blush rose to his cheeks.  
“I feel like a kid who had a tantrum. I was unable to manage my emotions and I made you worry. I'm ashamed."  
Aerith rested her head on his shoulder.  
"It's normal, isn't it? We worry about people we love ... and believe me, I’m not just the one who cares about you. "  
"In fact, even Zack ..." he darkened "It was I who took him away from you. It was my fault that he ... "  
"Stop it, Cloud!"  
“Yes! You're right, it's time for me to stop. By now I am no longer a boy. It is time for me to value the life that Zack gave me and the one you taught me to live. "  
He looked at her seriously. His gaze was going beyond, beyond his desires.  
Aerith felt left behind. She lowered her eyes and smiled. Wasn't that what she wanted?  
"Cloud ..."  
“I wish I could have lived with you, Aerith. For the rest of my life. Instead, the only thing I can do now is to leave you free, even if it is not what I would like. That's right, isn't it? This is what you expect from me ... You and Zack no longer have to worry about me. I won't bother you anymore. "  
He smiled but put a hand over his eyes. He felt his heart tear again, and his mind, on the contrary, very clear. He had just found her and would have to say goodbye again ... forever.  
She hugged him as sobs shook him.  
"Don't you think it's a little late to notice now? Stupid!"  
It wasn't her usual tone, she screamed and she started crying too.  
"I love you, Cloud. And I would have liked to spend much more time with you too! I told you, I didn't want to let you go again, but ... I wasn't ready! It was me who could not leave you! "  
She pretended it was all right, but it was the first time that Cloud had seen Aerith's pain so clearly. Although her eyes smiled, he understood that those tears and the disconnected phrases only tried to camouflage the cry of her heart.  
He got up and took her face, wiping away her tears, and his lips parted over hers trembling.

“Whatever happens you can't fall in love with me.  
Even if you love me ... it's not real. "

Now he understood the meaning of that phrase, he understood it all too well, but this time he had to be strong, for both of them.  
"My time has now expired, but I am sure you will be able to get by without me."  
Silent tears fell from her eyes, which contrasted so much with that simple and beautiful smile that had bewitched him from the first time.  
"I'll get by ... somehow." He leaned his forehead against hers, driving back the tears. He even tried to smile, but a grin of despair emerged.  
He left her for a moment, and bent to pick up a lily near his feet.  
“When you met me, you told me that for two lovers to give oneself flowers is to meet again. This ... is to find us. Take it with you. ”  
He handed her the flower and she took it between her fingers as if it were a treasure. Then he squeezed her so much that it took her breath away, burying her in a desperate embrace.  
“This is not a goodbye. The next time we meet we will be together forever. Seriously. So wait for me. I'll come to you."  
Aerith nodded, then clung to his shirt.  
"It’s almost time now ... will you stay with me until the end, Cloud?"  
"Sure."  
She encircled his shoulders in an embrace, hiding her head in the hollow of his collarbone.  
She had to let it go. She didn't want to leave him.  
They were sitting there, in that sea of flowers, he had taken her on the legs, as if he was cradling her. It wrapped it completely. He would not lose even an ounce of that heat, he wanted to imprint it inside for the rest of his life. No words, only looks, and sighs. It was their last moment. Cloud narrowed his eyes, looked at her and smiled at her. "I love you ... I will come to you."

The sun had almost set and the wind had risen.

"What are you going to do when all this is over, Cloud?"  
The voice was an imperceptible whisper, and he squeezed her harder.  
A small tear slid down his cheek, shining for a moment between his dark lashes.  
"To live." 

Aerith looked at him, as if she were saying "You’ve found the right answer." 

He smiled at her for the last time, feeling her hand touch his face, while her body split into a thousand strands of jade and turquoise, bright, dazzling, which dispersed in the last ray of sunshine.  
He held out his hand, as if to hold the planet's pulse of life for a moment longer.  
From his eyes a silent tear fell to cancel the enchantment of their last meeting. The valley had once again become a barren and rugged expanse, strewn with rocks.  
He got up, brushing his pants off, as if it had served something.  
"It's all over already. Thanks ... and goodbye, Aerith. When we can meet again. "


	16. File 16 - Last

## File 16 - Last

He had come back trudging up on the plateau, exhausted in body and heart, but kept his gaze fixed on him, preventing himself from giving in once again.

He found himself in front of Zack's grave while the last light of twilight faded on the horizon, turquoise and jade.

He brandished the sword, slitting the air once more, then held it straight in front of him and brought it to his forehead, he knelt and placed it on top of the grave.

“I'll give it back to you, Zack. I have been able to embrace my dreams, and I have already lived your part. The rest now depends on me ... it's all right. "

He got up, unfastened the buckles of the armor and the shoulder strap fell to the ground with a thump. He hung it from the sword stuck in the ground and also got rid of the belt, then raised his head and took a deep breath, narrowing his eyes to the wind that blew from the sea.

  
He was standing in front of the door, his hand on the handle.  
The cold wind ruffled his hair stuck in the mud.  
He stared at his feet without deciding to take another step.  
Behind that door, life awaited him, that life he had promised Aerith, the one that from now on would separate him from her day after day.  
Was he ready to live?  
How would he deal with Tifa, Barret, Marlene and all the friends who, now he knew it, shared a pain similar to his?  
The jukebox played an old Midgar Jazz and he could hear the clink of glasses topped by Barret's curses.  
His heart tightened.  
"Family" he thought. Those people were his family. They would never abandon him or blame him.  
Suddenly that time, which he thought would be infinite, seemed more tolerable to him.  
He closed his eyes, took a deep breath and pushed the door.

Marlene's cry rang out in the room when she saw it: "Cloud!"  
He did not even have time to look at her, who felt himself raised by the collar and found himself in front of the furious face of Barret who was spitting insults "You! Damn son of a bit... "  
He could not finish the sentence and gave it up, looking dismayed "What the hell happened to you? "  
At the same instant, the sound of broken glass made him turn around. Upon seeing him enter Tifa had dropped the tray with the glasses she was carrying to a table.  
All the patrons had turned to look at him.  
He was dirty, tattered, completely covered in mud, without armor and without his sword.

"Cloud! You look terrible. " Tifa smiled at him, wiping away a tear.  
He looked at her and smiled in turn, as Marlene ran to hug his knees.

"I’m home."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had really started this fanfiction many years ago, but the pain of losing Aerith had always made me give up on ending it. Now after the first chapter of the Remake I have taken it in hand, also adding a glimpse of Crisis Core, and Cloud's friendship with Zack. I love Cloud and Aerith madly, and I hope they can be happy together.


End file.
